Who needs a draft...

[Matabiri]

... when you've got kids?

Colin Hadley spends most of his days after school skateboarding or playing Halo II on his new X-Box with friends. He sleeps until noon or later on weekends and rarely, if ever, does any schoolwork outside the classroom, where he pulls down solid C's and a few D's - just enough to get by. He's the typical 15-year-old American boy: cocksure in demeanor, certain the world revolves around him, and confident that life is going to serve him well.

And he's the new "target of interest" for U.S. military recruiters who've begun signing up boys as young as 14 for military service, which they will be required to begin when they turn 18.

"It's a sweet deal," says Hadley, who boasts that he bought his X-Box with the enlistment bonus he received after signing up last month. "I don't have to do hardly anything for three years, but they're paying me now."

Hadley's windfall was made possible under the Pentagon's "pre-enlistment program" that was quietly authorized last month in an effort to ensure the number of military troops available for combat remains steady for at least the next few years. The conditions of the program are simple. A young man who is at least 14 years old and has a parent's permission can enlist in the U.S. military, but will not report to duty until he reaches the legal age. The future soldier agrees to remain "physically and mentally fit" and to undergo annual physical examinations at the Military Entrance and Processing Station (MEPS). In exchange, the government provides him a $10,000 sign-on bonus that is paid in yearly installments of $2,500 until the age of 18, at which time any remaining balance is given to the recruit.

...

"We're going to appeal to the patriotism of parents," says Pederson. "Parents have to understand that their children are needed in a time of war and that sacrifices need to be made for the good of the nation."

 

[geni]

Neat if extreamly cynical

 

[Rob Lister]

Neat if extreamly cynical

methinks this is satire. at first I thought it was The Onion.

 

[geni]

methinks this is satire.

So do I however history sugests that from a certian point of view it isn't a bad idea

at first I thought it was The Onion. [/B]

not quite thier style.

 

[Matabiri]

methinks this is satire. at first I thought it was The Onion.

So did I at first, but I did a Google on "pre-enlistment program" and got various hits, although many of them were this same story:

"Ryan Jerabek had pre-enlisted in the Marines with his friend Mike Andrews when he turned 17."

 

[Rob Lister]

So did I at first, but I did a Google on "pre-enlistment program" and got various hits, although many of them were this same story:

"Ryan Jerabek had pre-enlisted in the Marines with his friend Mike Andrews when he turned 17."

The program referred to in the later article is the "delayed enlistment" program. I'm pretty sure the min. age is 17 (which is also the legal age of enlistment with parental approval + HS diploma). You don't get paid for it but you do get a little of a head start in terms of time-in-service and time-in-rank as far as advancement goes. That's pretty much the only advantage.

That's as far as the "pre-enlistment" program goes. There are other programs however such as JROTC but they don't obligate you for anything.

 

[Matabiri]

The program referred to in the later article is the "delayed enlistment" program. I'm pretty sure the min. age is 17 (which is also the legal age of enlistment with parental approval + HS diploma). You don't get paid for it but you do get a little of a head start in terms of time-in-service and time-in-rank as far as advancement goes. That's pretty much the only advantage.

That's as far as the "pre-enlistment" program goes. There are other programs however such as JROTC but they don't obligate you for anything.

That makes a little more sense. Thanks.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Funny. I thought the whole point of not granting 14 year olds the rights of adults was that they were considered immature and incapable of fully understanding the consequences of their actions, and therefore possess diminished responsibility and diminished rights.

If a 14 year old can, why not a 13 year old? Or a 12 year old? Or a 11 year old? What's the cutoff? How can it be justified?

Heck, in terms of mental development, didn't they just have a study showing that the brain doesn't fully mature until the early twenties?

 

[Bjorn]

Funny. I thought the whole point of not granting 14 year olds the rights of adults was that they were considered immature and incapable of fully understanding the consequences of their actions, and therefore possess diminished responsibility and diminished rights.

If a 14 year old can, why not a 13 year old? Or a 12 year old? Or a 11 year old? What's the cutoff? How can it be justified?

We need them to sign up before they mature and start being critical to things that go boom?

 

[kalen]

Funny. I thought the whole point of not granting 14 year olds the rights of adults was that they were considered immature and incapable of fully understanding the consequences of their actions, and therefore possess diminished responsibility and diminished rights.

If a 14 year old can, why not a 13 year old? Or a 12 year old? Or a 11 year old? What's the cutoff? How can it be justified?

Heck, in terms of mental development, didn't they just have a study showing that the brain doesn't fully mature until the early twenties?

It is a matter of being accountable for your actions, so it should be the same age one would hold them responsible (as in being tried as an adult) for a crime that they committed. Of course, opinions vary on that topic, but if you think that a certain age is appropriate for one of these things, then certainly it should be for the other. So, some would say 12 years old is A-OK - sign them up!

While we're at it, why even bother with parental consent?

 

[Tmy]

Dont you need to be 18 in order to legally enter into a contract?

 

[TragicMonkey]

If I had forgotten how young 14 really is, I just got a refresher. Two kids attempting to drum up interest in attending their church just knocked on my door and gave me a flyer. They were 14 and 15, respectively, and were so nervous about knocking on the doors of strangers that they were practically stuttering in terror. My god, they weren't even fully grown yet, barely five feet tall!

They were so young that I restrained my rudeness and quietly accepted a flyer and wished them a nice evening.

I cannot imagine considering them old enough to make decisions of this magnitude.

 

[aerocontrols]

Wasn't it established early on in this thread that this is most likely a hoax?

 

[Rob Lister]

Wasn't it established early on in this thread that this is most likely a hoax?

Yes, but I don't think it matters. Think of it as a form of venting.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Wasn't it established early on in this thread that this is most likely a hoax?

That's what I thought about the "Constitution Restoration Act". It's rather alarming when the previously ridiculous starts getting increasingly plausible.

 

[Art Vandelay]

but if you think that a certain age is appropriate for one of these things, then certainly it should be for the other. So, some would say 12 years old is A-OK - sign them up!

That makes no sense. Why must we put all age limits at the same place? Must we either move voting to 16 or driving to 18, just to be "consistent"? Should all crimes be tried as adults at the same age? If a 14 year old is tried as an adult for murder, must all 14 year olds charged with every other crime be tried as an adult?

Tmy

Dont you need to be 18 in order to legally enter into a contract?

Yeah, and you can't be thrown into jail for not showing for work. Apparently the military is allowed to make up its own laws.

 

[kalen]

That makes no sense. Why must we put all age limits at the same place? Must we either move voting to 16 or driving to 18, just to be "consistent"? Should all crimes be tried as adults at the same age? If a 14 year old is tried as an adult for murder, must all 14 year olds charged with every other crime be tried as an adult?

Yes it does. To avoid being hypocrites. So yes (if you think driving is a privilege only to be extended to adults), yes, and yes. Personally, I think 16 is a fine age to be considered an "adult" for all purposes.

Also, please note that I have not said that 15 year olds and younger people get a blank check to commit crimes or otherwise get off lightly when they do something bad/criminal.

 

[a_unique_person]

So is it a hoax or what?

 

[crimresearch]

Wasn't it established early on in this thread that this is most likely a hoax?

Not neccessarily a hoax, but the way it is written it sounds like pure BS...

"...And he's the new "target of interest" for U.S. military recruiters who've begun signing up boys as young as 14 for military service, which they will be required to begin when they turn 18."

Recruiters may be visiting younger kids and giving them some kind of pep talk/sales pitch, but so are the police, fire department, and other employers...and nothing that these kids sign up for 'requires' them to complete an enlistment when they turn 18.

As a general rule, 14 year olds can't sign that sort of legally binding contract, any more than they can buy a house.

 

[Rob Lister]

So is it a hoax or what?

Adding to Crimresearch's post I'd like to add that the term 'hoax' implies certain things. I don't think it was meant as a hoax so much as it was meant to cast the military in a bad light.

Is that which was reported true? Most probably, very probably, not, IMNSHO. I can't prove it isn't true so...

Does it include certain aspects of military recruiting that are true? Certainly. But nothing that even compares with the over-the-top tactics presented. Certainly no binding contracts or pre-paid services. Talks at schools or other gatherings? Sure. Research and some development of warfare-tactic-strat games for teens? Some (but they never panned out). Long-term targeting of specific demographics? Why, of course because that's what good advertising is all about.